Ramshaw pleased ‘torrid’ campaign is finally over

JOHN Ramshaw looked back on a dreadful season at Eastwood Town this week and declared his intention to put things right in the next campaign.

The Badgers boss saw his side lose 4-0 at Bishop’s Stortford in last Saturday’s final game, the club’s 30th defeat of a season where they’ve conceded 105 league goals.

And as Ramshaw began his preparations in earnest for the 2012/13 campaign, he emphasised the need for a fresh start.

He said: “It’s been an absolutely torrid campaign, there’s no two ways about it.

“I came to the club in November from Shepshed Dynamo, where there was plenty of desire and the fitness levels were good but the ability just wasn’t there.

“Here it was totally the opposite, with good players who largely didn’t seem interested and that was reflected in their performances and attitudes to training.

“Those players found it difficult to walk away due to the financial rewards of staying, namely big contracts that were taking up about 86 per cent of the wage bill.

“So it left very little leeway for good quality new players and ultimately it cost us in more ways than one.”

Retained

Ramshaw says the club is now keen to learn from those errors, with any future players over the age of 24 only being offered non-contract terms in order to invest in younger talent that could reward the club in the future.

The club has taken up the option of retaining Alex Troke, Jevaise Christie, Josh Burge and Sam Benjamin, while Danny Elliott has been offered new terms.

The option to extend defender Gavin Caines’ contract has not been taken due to his age, but he has been offered non-contract terms.

Negotiations with other squad members Ramshaw wants to keep are ongoing.

He said: “Some players have done well and shown enough to deserve another chance next year.

“What people have seen this season hasn’t been a fair reflection on my managerial ability which has been proven at non-league level for a long time. Next season I want to get back to doing things my way.

“I want more lads from the Notts area involved so there’s a bit of local pride to fight for, and we need to go about things in a way that we keep our dignity better than this season.”

Budget

Ramshaw says he now plans to sit down with the club’s owner, Steve Lynch, to discuss what kind of budget will be available next year.

He said: “We know there’s no way we’re coming straight back up but I want us to have a workable budget.

“The events of the last few months haven’t stopped me going out and scouting around for players, and I’ve had a lot of positive feedback from the majority of fans who realise just how much hard work I and so many others here have been doing.

“It’s a sad fact though that there are still some who don’t recognise that a lot of personal sacrifices have been made by a lot of people to keep this club afloat.

“When a club is relegated there’s bound to be blame, fall-outs and disagreements, but there has to also be a desire to put things right and we have to work together to achieve that.”

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